President Trump is flexing his dominance over the Republican Party to stamp out primaries that would bleed party coffers and fracture the GOP ahead of a treacherous midterm election. Why it matters: Republican operatives say that if the party defies expectations and keeps control of Congress this fall, Trump's ruthless maneuvers to sideline some candidates while forcefully backing others will be a big reason why. By the numbers: Trump has picked favorites in more primaries than any other president in history. - He endorsed 95 percent of the 217-member House GOP Conference, including 43 candidates running in the Cook Political Report's 60 most competitive House races. - He endorsed Republican candidates in nearly two-thirds of Senate…
Republican chances of keeping the House are surging, as panicked Democrats scramble to offset back-to-back-to-back redistricting blows. Why it matters: Democrats feel good about their midterms affordability message . But they're nervous about the math for retaking the House now that Republicans appear (for now) to have won this year's redistricting wars. - And they are wondering why the party spent $65 million on a losing effort. - "F*****ck!!" one House Democrat texted Axios' Andrew Solender after Virginia's Supreme Court invalidated the state's new congressional maps. - House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) vowed to pursue "all options to overturn this shocking decision." Zoom in: Depression dominated Democrats' public…